Women’s Basketball Follow-Up: Community Support Highlights Vital Win

You know something is undeniably cliché when it becomes cliché even to preface the phrase with a disclaimer about how cliché it is. And all UD students know that the only cliché on campus more cliché than the word itself also begins with the letter C.

“This is an unbelievable crowd,” coach Shauna Green grabbed the public address microphone and thanked the 3,224 supporters who had come to the arena mid-week.

“The students we had tonight, we need you to keep coming back.”

Each time the buzzer sounds at UD Arena concluding a game, Green performs the same routine:

“Thank you all for coming out, you guys are great,” the sentiment normally flows. “We really need your support on [insert next home date here].”

But Wednesday night was different. Her sentiment, while always sincere, was more triumphant. The lower bowl was at near capacity, the student section was loud, and the crowd as a whole was passionate throughout the game.

“If we can have that environment every single night at the arena…it’s gonna be really hard [for opponents] to come to the arena and win because it’s such a huge boost for us,” Green said in a press conference afterward.

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With such high stakes for the victor — first place in the conference and a potential tie-breaker down the road — Dayton Athletics, Red Scare, and the players themselves promoted the game heavily on campus and in the surrounding community.

“We knew that it was going to be a huge game and the women’s team also reached out wanting a big crowd,” said Chris LaReau, president of the Red Scare executive board.

“So it was definitely a joint effort between ourselves and the athletic department to promote the game.”

Like any good community neighbors, the fans delivered on the request.

The student section, normally barren for the women’s games, was rocking with eager Flyers, many of whom were student-athletes.

“We were excited with the amount of students that came out to the game,” LaReau said.

“We had a good amount of regular students at the game, but we did have a lot of student athletes who came to the game with their teams to support, which is always great to see.”

Dayton Pep Band posing with the women’s squad after their win over Duquesne in the A-10 Championship on Mar. 5, 2017.

The band, who plays at every home game and travels with the team to tournaments, enjoyed the better-than-usual turnout.

“The success isn’t just about the team winning, but it’s about showing the community and the students what Dayton women’s basketball is all about,” said Kayla Pariser, a senior piccolo player in the pep band. “So in addition to the W, it was a win to have more student support there.”

Pariser, and her fellow bandmates, have revelled in the recent success of the women’s team. And the relationship between the band and the players might be an even truer display of community than Wednesday.

“The band strongly supports the women’s team and vice versa,” she said. “Last year when we went to the A-10 Tournament with them in Richmond, when they won we actually got to go on the court and take pictures with the trophy with them.”

The band, the fans, the students, anyone who comes out to UD Arena will end up leaving with the same feeling because of how the team cherishes their supporters. And that’s not to say there are few, because even average opponents who play in Dayton are met by at least 2,000 of the Flyer faithful, albeit mostly non-students.

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“I think it’s really nice when the coach acknowledges the community the support, and the students,” Pariser said, who’s band ceases playing for Green’s postgame thanks after every contest. “It makes you feel more connected to the team, not like the team is on a pedestal.”

Three thousand people on Wednesday got to experience that bond and feel connected to a significant win.

“The women’s team definitely feels like a community-centered team,” Pariser said. “They want members of the community and student body to be a part of their success.”

What’s funny about clichés is that, even though they’re taboo on paper and in speech, passionate writers want to return to them because of their truth.

And the women’s basketball team hopes their fans find the same desire after experiencing the fun truth of a Flyer win.

“I’m so appreciative to everyone who comes out and takes the time,” Green. said “And I hope they just keep coming back.”

Photos Courtesy of Kayla Pariser and Taken by Roberto De La Rosa-Finch/Online Editor